Why In the World Would I Want a Natural Childbirth?!?!

Note that this post is long and possibly a little controversial to some people.


It's starting to hit me that sometime within the next 7 weeks I will be having a baby.  Those of you who know me well will know that I research EVERYTHING no matter how big or small (Many people think this is often to my detriment which is probably true.  Sometimes it's possible to know too much I guess).  So, it should come as no surprise that I made a point to research all of my options when it came to childbirth.  And after that research, I came to the conclusion that I prefer to have a natural childbirth without interventions and pain medication.


Let me first say that when I got pregnant, I didn't realize that I had options.  I thought the only difference between getting an epidural and not getting one was how much labor would hurt.  I thought you just go to a doctor who told you everything to do then you went to a hospital and did everything they told you to do and then you have a baby.  While I do recommend doing what your doctors and hospitals advise, it's so important to know that they are usually more than happy to give you options if you only ask.


I know that this is a serious hot button topic for many women.  So let me first say, I think every family deserves to make their own decisions on what kind of birth they want.  There is no right or wrong way to have a baby - only right or wrong ways for you.  That said, I think many people make decisions without learning about their options and the pros and cons of those options.  Many women spend more time picking out a car or a camera then they do considering their birthing options.  I would just encourage any one who is planning to have a baby to look at all of the options around childbirth before they decide what is the best fit for them.  Read books, talk to friends who have different birth experiences, interview doctors and midwives, and make sure you hear many different perspectives. And then, do whatever you feel is best for you and your family.


I also understand that childbirth is often unpredictable.  Even the best made plans have to be flexible and that medical situations can arise that require those plans to change. If our birth doesn't go according to our plan, that's ok and we will will deal with that as it comes. 


Whew, that was a long intro.  I remember my first appointment after finding out I was having a baby.  They take you into an office and talk about your medical history and then quickly find out how you plan on paying for all of this (hey, it is a business after all).  One of the questions was whether I wanted an epidural.  I laughed.  Um, yes!  Why should labor hurt if it didn't have to?!?!  Several months of research later I realized that there is so much more to it than that.  I think Jason was pretty nervous about it at first, but we have decided that having a natural childbirth is best for our family.


When I tell people that, I get a lot of funny looks.  Americans aren't too keen on natural childbirth these days, so few people understand why I would want to "put my body through that."  On our recent labor and delivery hospital tour, I was the only one of the 9 women there that was planning on a natural childbirth.  I also have a lot of people tell me that I will change my mind once the time comes.  I just laugh - those people clearly do not know how stubborn I am once I put my mind to something.  Same goes for those people who tell my I won't stick to cloth diapering.  So, why did I decide to do this? These are just some of the many reasons I feel like it is best for ME: 

• I can't help but be curious about what labor feels like.  This is probably the silliest reason but it is the reason that I started considering natural childbirth to begin with.  
• I do not want to use Pitocin to induce or speed my labor.  I plan on laboring at home as long as safely possible to avoid this.  Pitocin is the synthetic form of oxytocin, the chemical your body releases that causes you to have contraction.  The thing is, Pitocin contractions are longer, closer together, and much stronger than the contractions that your body has naturally.  This means you have less time to rest between them and it hurts much worse!  It's much harder to not get an epidural when you start with Pitocin due to the pain.
• I do not want an epidural for several reasons
• I hate the idea of having to lay in bed the entire time I'm laboring and not be able to walk around or go to the bathroom on my own
• Complications for mom and baby may be rare, but they are not worth the risk to me.
• It often slows down labor 
• I am a bit of a control freak and being numb drives me nuts.  I want to be able to feel what my body is doing
• Yes, I know that it's going to hurt.  But, there are so many pain management techniques that can be done to minimize and distract from the pain and make it a more calm experience.  It usually isn't anything like what you see on tv or in the movies.  Our childbirth class was so helpful with learning these techniques and making me feel confident in our decision.
• Augmentations can sometimes lead to emergency C-sections.  Because of the intensity of Pitocin contractions, many women need an epidural.  The epidural slows down labor so they need more Pitocin to speed it back up.  This can cause fetal distress (babies like breaks from contractions too) which can lead to an emergency C-section.  I'm totally freaked out by being cut open and want to avoid having a major abdominal surgery if at all possible.  The risks of infection and other complications kind of terrify me.  This goes for all types of surgery.  It's also interesting to look at statistics on the C-section rates in American over time and compared to other countries, but I'll let you do that on your own :)
• Recovery time is usually much shorter.  The women who I have talked to and researched who have had both medicated and unmedicated childbirth almost always say that their recovery was much faster, easier, and less painful after natural childbirth.
• The high created by the Oxytocin release after natural child birth is said to be incredible and unlike anything that you experience with augmented labor (this is according to my friends who have had multiple children and have done it both ways)
• Because I know I can!  It sounds cheesy, but my body really was made to have babies and knows what it is doing.  I think it's exciting and empowering to think that I will be able to do something so amazing!

Now I just have to wait patiently (yeah right) until she decides she's ready to join us!

What a Big Baby You Have

My most recent prenatal appointment was Wednesday.  I was pretty excited that I had lost a pound during this two weeks since I gained 6 in the two weeks before! It's not unusual to start losing a little weight toward the end since there is a lot less room in there and I get full so much easier.


Awhile back Dr. Collins had mentioned thinking I may have a big baby, but the ultrasound tech at my 29 week appointment didn't really make any comments about it.  At this most recent appointment, I was 34.5 weeks and apparently measuring closer to 37/38 weeks.  So, Dr. Collins wants me to do another ultrasound to get a look at her and see how she's cooking.  I've been asked, does measuring ahead mean you are going to have her early? Not really.  It could mean a lot of things.  Maybe she's just big (after all, I was 9 lbs and my brother was 9 1/2 lbs) or maybe I did just eat too many pizza rolls!  Every woman and baby is different so the measurements don't necessarily mean anything at all.  Even the ultrasound has a margin of error of 1-2 lbs this late in pregnancy.  


Moral of the story, I'm not too worried about it.  And I'm certainly not afraid of having a big baby.  I'm more concerned with making sure she stays in there at least a few more weeks.  Am I ready to meet her and not be pregnant anymore?  Absolutely!  But, it's more important to me that she's ready to come out and that her lungs and everything are ready to go!


Jason and I saw the What to Expect When You're Expecting movie last night.  It was cute and reflected many different types of experiences.  I did, however, find the actual birth scenes to be a little unrealistic, but that's Hollywood.  It did make me think about our birth plan and our hope for a natural, unmedicated childbirth.  More on that in my next post!

Baby Day

It was great to have a 3 day weekend!  We were able to get so many things accomplished.  And even more important was the reason for the holiday.  Thank you to all of the men and women who have served our country!


Saturday, we had our all day Baby Basics class.  We learned a lot about calming techniques, nutrition, breastfeeding, and all things baby.  It will all come in handy!  Then we enjoyed some baseball at a Naturals game with our friends Todd and Robyn and their adorable little boy, Grayson.  Such a fun night.


Sunday was our designated "Baby Day", and that definitely turned out to be the case.  We finished our last load of baby laundry, hung the camera for the video monitor, sanitized bottles and pacifiers, and went shopping for a few baby items as well as for our hospital bags.


Then, came the fun part!  I had pretty much decided that I was not interested in getting maternity photos because seeing myself in pictures in my current puffy state is pretty much a bummer.  But, when I saw that our engagement and wedding photographer was going to be in town doing some weekend mini sessions, Jason and I decided to take advantage.  We love Ashley and David and were bummed when they moved from Fayetteville, AR to Fayetteville, NC.  I called up Scott Edwards (aka Miracle Worker) who did my wedding makeup because I figured if I was going to look all big and swollen, I might as well have pretty makeup.  Luckily, he was available so we were good to go.  We had a great time catching up with David and Ashley at dinner and then headed out to a field for some fun pictures.  I can't wait to see them!  We even "recreated" a few of our engagement and wedding pictures.  So fun!  We'll be looking forward to the baby version of these:

We redid this pose outside on some stairs (not in our wedding attire of course!)

The updated version of this pic has us holding our framed 'E' instead of an empty frame

After such a busy Sunday, I didn't have much energy left today!  We woke up at 8:30 and by 10 or so, I was napping in the nursery rocker.  We ran a few errands and then I napped some more.  Needless to say, I was pretty worn out. Jason and I did take some time to start packing our hospital bags, though.  I'm pretty sure we're taking WAY to much stuff, but oh well! Hopefully, we'll be using them sooner than later!

Fix It, Change It, Rearrange It

I've realized that I'm at the point in my pregnancy in which there aren't too many big things left to do.  So instead, I find myself redoing the things I've already done.  I'm pretty sure her closet has been reorganized about 10 times.  But it looks cute!  Other than that, there are just a few things left to do:

• Finish buying some last minute "necessities" and put away the things we've ordered as they arrive
• Mount the video monitor on the wall
• Figure out where we want to put the humidifier
• A load or so of baby laundry
• Buy a few things for and pack my hospital bag (exciting!)

The last couple of weeks have seemed like the longest weeks EVER, and I have a feeling the next few won't be much better!  

Bow Party

Lately, I had started to get a little bit concerned because my little girl had a serious bow shortage.  After all, every little girl needs bows and there is no such thing as too many bows.  Luckily, my friend Lori who has an adorable 6 month old daughter has become quite the pro at bow making.  Here are the ones she made for me and gave me at my shower.

We'd been talking for awhile about having a bow party, and we finally did it!  Lori, Rea, and I made a LONG trip to Hobby Lobby to get all of the supplies.  By the time we got done with that, the pregnant ladies were hungry, so we had to stop and get pizza. After we stuffed our faces with pizza and no-bake cookies, Lori taught us what the heck to do.  She assured us that flowers are the easiest, so we started with those.  

Looks hot pink, but it's actually red

This one is red, too

Once we figured out the flowers (and they were so easy - it's crazy that these are so expensive in the the stores!), we moved to the much more difficult ribbon bows.  Our first few tries weren't great, but we got better.

This one will be great for Razorback games! 

I also found this bow that I wore on my wedding dress during the reception.  I got it from an awesome Etsy seller, Rosebud Lips, who donates to a great cause with every purchase from her store. 

Set Hope Free. This is a project that I'm so passionate about. It's about redeeming women who have been held captive and have been sold into slavery. Human trafficking doesn't just happen in other countries, but in our cities. Please know that each item that you purchase contributes to a care package that is being sent to help these women reclaim their dignity. To make them feel beautiful again. To learn more, go to www.iamchange.org and see what we are doing.

It will look so cute in her newborn pictures!  

The whole day was so much fun!  I love when I am able to make stuff myself.  It means so much more than just buying things.  Although, buying things is fun, too!  It's been great seeing all of the packages we ordered showing up at our door.  Can't wait until we get to use it all!

56 Days and Counting

Jason and I have been plenty busy the last couple of weeks preparing for little Baby Suitt.  After our two wonderful showers, we've been doing lots of laundry (well, I've been doing lots of laundry).  I've gotten through most everything except maybe 1 load of clothes.  And, the cloth diapers still have some prepping, but it shouldn't be much longer before everything is fresh and clean!


I also spent a long evening making some new burp cloths.  Once I "perfected" the flannel ones, I moved on to the more complicated (and more absorbent) cloth diaper burp cloths.  I found some great fabric at Hobby Lobby and I think they turned out pretty darn cute!  Please forgive my less than stellar iPhone camera skills.

We were also finally able to figure out the shelves above the changing table.  This had been driving me nuts, and I'm so glad it's finally done!  I had also seen a super fun idea on Pinterest for using planters as wall storage, but I could not find the half circle planters anywhere!  I looked at Lowe's, Home Depot, Chicken Holler, and Westwood Gardens.  I ended up randomly finding ONE at Jo Ann, but I really needed three.  I got my mom on a mission to find them, too, and she had much better luck.  Turns out, Big Lots had exactly what I needed.  I really like how it turned out.

Last Saturday was our "Childbirth Marathon" class at Washington Regional.  It was so interesting and informative!  I think Jason especially enjoyed learning about all of the ins and outs of labor and delivery.  When I first got pregnant, there was no doubt in my mind that I would want an epidural as soon as I walked in the hospital door, but now with the breathing and pain relief techniques we learned, I'm thinking I'd like to try going the natural route.  I had been feeling like I might want to try for awhile now, and the class helped to solidify that for me.  I think it's partially just curiosity, but I really want to give it a shot.  We'll see if I feel the same way once I'm actually in labor.  Next weekend is our Baby Basics class which I'm really looking forward to.  We'll get to learn all about what to actually do with the baby once we get her home.  I'm thinking that will come in handy!

Sunday was my first (almost) Mother's Day.  Jason and I didn't do much other than clean house and run errands, but he got me the sweetest gift! I had been eyeballing the stackable engraved rings that all of my friends are sporting with their kiddos names, and now I have one of my own.  Unfortunately, in my swollen state, it won't fit on my finger, so for now it is on a chain around my neck.  I can't post a picture of the actual ring since it has her name on it, but here is the sample picture.

Lately, the word comfortable cannot be used to describe me at all! One of my favorite pregnancy blogs, Pregnant Chicken, has a hilarious post about the Stages of Pregnancy (WARNING: Amy does not hold back, especially when it comes to language, so click with caution).

http://pregnantchicken.squarespace.com/pregnant-chicken-blog/2010/5/31/stages-of-pregnancy.html

Stage 2 was definitely my worst stage - so sick!  And she's right, Stage 3 lasts about 27 minutes.  I'd say I'm a solid Stage 4 right now:

Stage 4: You're starting to find it hard to breathe and things are starting to swell. You're sick of people asking you if you know what you're having, when you're due and if you've decided on a name. You're tired of wearing the same maternity clothes but you don't want to buy new stuff because you're almost done. Shaving your legs, putting shoes and tending to your lady bits is becoming difficult.

The only thing I think she forgot in my case is the pregnancy-induced carpal tunnel syndrome.  Yes, it is a thing.  Yes, I have it.  And yes, it's normal.  But it is also borderline awful.  My hands are either sore, tingling, or completely numb most of the time.  This results in me dropping LOTS of things and having even more than the normal pregnant lady level of difficulty when it comes to getting in and out of bed.  But I'm told this too shall pass.

Tonight, we had a good time going back through our baby registry and buying many of the things that we still need before the little one arrives.  I love getting packages (who doesn't) so the next week or so should be awesome!

So, here we are with 8 short weeks before we have a baby (Maybe 6 if God answers my prayers desperate pleas).  I can't possibly imagine that any one is ever truly ready for their first child, but I guess we're just about as ready as we're going to get.  We are so excited, and scared, and all kinds of other things. But we can't wait to meet our little girl!

April Showers

The last few days have been a whirlwind!  Saturday was our shower in Little Rock hosted by Jason's mom's friends Cheryl and Debra.  The decorations were gorgeous and we had so much fun!  They even made a baby carriage out of a watermelon - very cool!  We got so many wonderful gifts! Of course, I forgot my camera, but I was able to grab this one from Facebook with Jason's mom and the lovely hostesses.

Sunday was our shower in Fayetteville hosted by Rea, Jessica, and Nicole.

The shower had a Goodnight Story theme and they went all out!  Books everywhere (with matching cupcakes) and milk and cookies.  Instead of cards, everyone brought books for our little lady!  It was perfect, and we are so lucky to have the best friends!

After two amazing showers, I went to Joplin on Sunday night so I would be there for my Monday morning ultrasound at Joplin 3D/4D Imaging.  Of course, it wouldn't be my child if she were to fully cooperate.  She made sure to be completely scrunched up with hands and feet right up in front of her face.  We were able to get a few good looks at her though.  The tech estimated her due date to be July 11 which is a few days earlier than the original date and I am perfectly ok with that!  Isn't she cute, already :)

Going back to work after such a long, exciting weekend was a little overwhelming, so I made up for it by buying some diapers at Terra Tots on my lunch break!  Just another reason why I'm excited about cloth diapering - buying diapers is fun!  BumGenius just came out with some great new colors and I found a couple of adorable Swaddlebees prints.  Here's a peak at a few of them - adorable!

Photo from the BumGenius website

Photo from Amazon.com

Photo from Amazon.com